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Messenger RNA targeting of rice seed storage proteins to specific ER subdomains

Nature volume 407, pages 765–767 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Rice seeds, a rich reserve of starch and protein, are a major food source in many countries. Unlike the seeds of other plants, which typically accumulate one major type of storage protein, rice seeds use two major classes, prolamines and globulin-like glutelins. Both storage proteins are synthesized on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and translocated to the ER lumen, but are then sorted into separate intracellular compartments1,2. Prolamines are retained in the ER lumen as protein bodies whereas glutelins are transported and stored in protein storage vacuoles. Mechanisms responsible for the retention of prolamines within the ER lumen and their assembly into intracisternal inclusion granules are unknown, but the involvement of RNA localization has been suggested3. Here we show that the storage protein RNAs are localized to distinct ER membranes and that prolamine RNAs are targeted to the prolamine protein bodies by a mechanism based on RNA signal(s), a process that also requires a translation initiation codon. Our results indicate that the ER may be composed of subdomains that specialize in the synthesis of proteins directed to different compartments of the plant endomembrane system.

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Figure 1: Localization of BiP, native prolamine and prolamine and glutelin transcripts in rice seed sections.
Figure 2: The distribution of synthetic prolamine RNAs in mid-developing rice endosperm sections.
Figure 3: Visualization of chimaeric RNA transcripts in developing seeds by in situ RT-PCR.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. S. Boston and F. Takaiwa for providing the maize BiP antibody and prolamine promoter clone. This work was supported in part by United States Department of Agriculture National Research Initiative Competitive Grant Program, by a National Science Foundation Grant, and by Washington State University College of Agriculture and Home Economics Hatch Project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biological Chemistry,

    Sang-Bong Choi, Changlin Wang, Yujia Wu & Thomas W. Okita

  2. School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, 99164, Washington, USA

    Vincent R. Franceschi

  3. Department of Biological Sciences University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, T2N 1N4, Alberta, Canada

    Douglas G. Muench

  4. National Institute of Agrobiological Resources, Kannondai, 2-1-2 305-8602, Tsukuba, Japan

    Kenjirou Ozawa

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  1. Sang-Bong Choi
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Correspondence to Thomas W. Okita.

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Choi, SB., Wang, C., Muench, D. et al. Messenger RNA targeting of rice seed storage proteins to specific ER subdomains. Nature 407, 765–767 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35037633

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